Crash helmet for sports, in particular cycling

ABSTRACT

A crash helmet ( 1 ) for sports, such as cycling, in which, to optimize ventilation for the wearer and so minimize the effects of sweating, the crash helmet consists of a supporting cap ( 2 ), designed to be worn on the top of a person&#39;s head, and an outer cap ( 3 ) designed to fit on top of the supporting cap ( 2 ) and permanently connected to the latter; the supporting cap ( 2 ) has a plurality of first through holes ( 5-9 ) in channels which are opposite the inner surface of the outer cap ( 3 ); the front of the outer cap ( 3 ) has at least second through holes ( 18, 19, 20 ) which communicate with a channel in the supporting cap, and with a first hole ( 5-9 ) in the supporting cap; the rear zones of the caps ( 2,3 ) together form, at the channels in the supporting cap, an equal number of matching passages ( 27, 28, 29 ) which communicate with corresponding second hole ( 18, 19, 20 ) and are open at a rear zone of the crash helmet ( 1 ); thus between the supporting cap ( 2 ) and the outer cap ( 3 ), there is a system of channels with Venturi effect, communicating with the head of the crash helmet wearer.

The present application is the national stage under 35 U.S.C. 371 ofPCT/IB99/00824, filed May 7, 1999.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a crash helmet for sports. Inparticular, the present invention relates to a crash helmet which can beused by cyclists.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventional crash helmets for cyclists usually consist of a capdesigned to be worn on the top of the head and having a plurality ofholes designed to allow air to pass through the wearer's hair. Said airflow is intended to cool the top of the wearer's head, promoting theevaporation of sweat.

It has been noticed that, in the conventional crash helmets of thistype, air flows through the hair at a relatively low speed and so doesnot always guarantee achievement of the above-mentioned arm.

Moreover, the presence of said plurality of holes in the surface of thecap means that the crash helmet does not have optimum aerodynamiccharacteristics, and so is not ideal for use in competitions.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,123 discloses A crash helmet for sports, comprisinga supporting cap, being designed to be worn on the top of the head, andan outer cap, designed to fit on top of the supporting cap and beconnected to the latter; said supporting cap having a plurality of firstthrough holes in a surface substantially opposite an inner surface ofthe outer cap, and the outer cap having, at a zone being at the frontwhen in use, at least one second hole for the entering of the air; therear zones and each other opposed zones of the caps together defining atleast one first passage for the exiting of the air at the rear zone ofthe crash helmet.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The aim of the present invention is, therefore, to overcome theabove-mentioned disadvantages and provide a crash helmet for sportswhich, as well as being very strong and aerodynamic, guarantees optimumventilation for the top of the wearer's head.

The idea on which the crash helmet disclosed by the present invention isbased, as described in the claims herein, envisages the structure of thecrash helmet consisting of a supporting cap, designed to be worn on thetop of the head, and an outer cap, designed to be worn on top of thesupporting cap and presently connected to the latter. To allow optimumventilation for the crash helmet wearer's head, the supporting cap has aplurality of first through holes in hollows or channels in the outersurface of the supporting cap, facing the inner surface of the outercap. The front of the outer cap has at least second through holes, eachcommunicating with a relative channel in the supporting cap, and eachalso communicating with a relative first hole in the supporting cap. Therear zones of the supporting and outer caps together define, at thehollows or channels in the supporting cap, an equal number of matchingpassages which are open at a rear zone of the crash helmet, so thatbetween the supporting and outer caps with said first and second holesand the channels in the supporting cap, there is a system of channelswith Venturi effect, communicating with the internal environment definedby the supporting cap and, therefore, with the crash helmet wearer'shead.

The technical features and the advantages of the crash helmet for sportsdisclosed, in accordance with the above-mentioned aims, are more clearlyillustrated in the detailed description which follows, with reference tothe accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodimentwithout limiting the scope of application, and in which:

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are respectively a side view, a front view and a topplan view of the supporting cap which forms a crash helmet for sportsmade in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are respectively a side view, a front view and a bottomplan view of the outer cap which, together with the supporting cap inFIGS. 1, 2 and 3, constitutes the crash helmet for sports made inaccordance with the present invention; and

FIGS. 7 and 8 are respectively an elevated front view and an elevatedrear view of a crash helmet for sports made in accordance with thepresent invention.

With reference to the accompanying drawings and in particular FIGS. 7and 8, the crash helmet disclosed is labelled 1 as a whole. Said crashhelmet 1 comprises a supporting cap 2, designed to be worn on the top ofthe head, and an outer cap 3, designed to be stably (permanently)connected to an upper surface of the cap 2 during the manufacture of thecrash helmet 1.

As illustrated, in particular in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the supporting cap 2is substantially cup-shaped, the concave portion pointing downwards inuse. Said cap 2 extends longitudinally in a direction indicated by thearrow F in FIGS. 1 and 3, and consists of two halves which aresymmetrical about a plane perpendicular to the plane on which the crashhelmet rests in FIG. 3. A straight line representing this plane,parallel with the arrow F is labelled T.

In the description which follows, terms such as “upper”, “lower”,“front”, “rear”, “side” and other similar adjectives. indicating aprecise position are used with reference to zones of the crash helmet 1or caps 2 and 3 which, when the crash helmet 1 is worn, are respectivelylocated at the top, at the front, at the rear, at the side, etc.

The upper and side surfaces of the supporting cap 2 have a plurality oflong, shallow hollows (or channels), extending longitudinally indirections substantially parallel with the midplane T. Said hollowsinclude a central hollow 4 a, in an upper zone of the cap 2, with threethrough holes 5, distributed in a substantially even fashion along thecentral hollow 4 a, as well as two hollows 4 b in respective side zonesof the cap 2, each having one hole 7 and two through holes 6, arrangedone after another along the hollow 4 b, the first hole 7 being in afront zone of the hollow 4 b and the others 6 in a rear zone of thehollow 4 b.

Two side zones of the cap 2, respectively below the hollows 4 b, havethrough holes 8 in a front zone of the cap 2.

A front portion of the cap 2 has a long through hole 9, extendingvertically along the midplane T.

A rear zone of the cap 2 has a recessed cavity 10, extendinghorizontally, in which there are three through holes 11, one in acentral zone intersecting the midplane T, and the other two on sideshorizontally opposite relative to said plane.

Two hollows 4 c, respectively between hollow 4 a and hollows 4 b, eachhave three recesses 12, distributed in a substantially even fashionalong the relative hollow 4 c. In each hollow 4 c, the recess 12 closeto a rear zone of the cap 2 is passed through by a hole 13 which extendsparallel with the arrow F, designed to house, in a known way, notillustrated, a belt (also not illustrated) which can be used to fastenthe crash helmet 1 on the wearer's head. Two similar holes 14, with thesame purpose as the holes 13, are made in an equal number of recesses 15respectively located below the holes 7.

As illustrated, in particular in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the outer cap 3extends longitudinally in the direction indicated by the arrow F, andconsists of two halves which are symmetrical about the midplane T.Observed from the front, it can be seen that said outer cap 3 has athree-lobed configuration (FIG. 5), defined by a central projection 16longitudinally intersected by the midplane T, and two domed zones 17, onopposite sides of the central projection 16.

The outer cap 3 is substantially cup-shaped, with a concave portionwhich, in use, points downwards, and a front portion which has threethrough holes 18, 19, 20 (FIGS. 5-7), one located in an upper centralzone intersecting the midplane T, and the other two on sides which arehorizontally opposite relative to said plane.

As becomes clear later in the present text, when, during the manufactureof the crash helmet 1, the outer cap 3 is fitted onto the supporting cap2, the central hole 19 is substantially opposite the front hole 5,whilst side holes 18 and 20 are respectively opposite one of the holes7.

As illustrated, in particular in FIG. 6, at the central projection 16,the inner surface of the cap 3 defines a cavity 21 which extends betweenthe hole 19 and a portion of the rear edge of the cap 3. At itslongitudinally central portion, said cavity 21 has a zone with across-section which is smaller than the cross-section of the other zonesof the cavity 21, forming a constriction 22, the function of which isdescribed below.

Moreover, at the zones which connect the central projection 16 to adomed zone 17, the inner surface of the outer cap 3 has two projections23, designed so that when the outer cap 3 is fitted to the supportingcap 2, they fit into the respective recesses 12 in the supporting cap 2.

A portion of the inner surface of the cap 3 close to the front edge ofthe cap 3 has a groove 24 which extends vertically along the plane T.When the caps 2 and 3 are attached to one another to create theassembled crash helmet 1, the groove 24 is opposite the through hole 9in the supporting cap 2.

Finally, where the supporting cap 2 and outer cap 3 make contact withone another at the front of the crash helmet 1, they define two passages25 illustrated in FIG. 7, each communicating with one of the holes 8.

As already indicated, the crash helmet 1 is made by placing the outercap 3 on top of the supporting cap 2, with the projections 23 insertedin the respective recesses 12, and by connecting the caps togetherstably, for example, by gluing.

When the crash helmet 1 is used, air enters the crash helmet 1 throughthe holes 18, 19 and 20 in the outer cap 3 (FIG. 5), through thepassages 25 and the hole 26 (FIG. 7) defined by placing the groove 24 inthe zone of the crash helmet 1 with the hole 9, and flows in the holes5, 7, 8 and 9 in the supporting cap 2, passing over and through thewearer's hair, cooling the top of the head and allowing the constantevaporation of sweat. Said air exits the crash helmet 1 not only throughthe holes 11 illustrated in FIG. 8, but also through three passages,labelled 27, 28 and 29, from left to right in FIG. 8, defined at therear portion of the crash helmet 1 by uniting the respective surfaces ofthe caps 2 and 3.

It should be noticed that the constriction 22 in the cavity 21 causesthe passage 28 to have a zone with a smaller cross-section than theother zones of the passage 28. Said passage 28, therefore, substantiallyhas the shape of a Venturi tube, at the outfeed of which air flowsfaster than the air which entered through the holes 18, 19, 20 and 26.

As a result, the air which passed over the hair of the person wearingthe crash helmet 1 exits the crash helmet 1 very easily, guaranteeingeffective circulation of air against the person's head.

It should also be noticed that the portions of the inner surface of theouter cap 3 which constitute said domed zones 17 may be made in such away as to define, together with the matching outer surfaces of thesupporting cap 2, passages (not illustrated) with the functionalcharacteristics of the passage 28.

The crash helmet 1, therefore, fulfils the aims indicated, since as wellas being very strong and having an aerodynamic configuration, it canguarantee perfect ventilation for the top of the wearer's head.

The present invention may be subject to numerous modifications andvariations, all encompassed by the design concept.

For example, the outer cap 3 may not be designed to be stably fixed,during the manufacture of the crash helmet 1, to the supporting cap 2;in which case, the connection could be made by the user, withconventional connecting means, not illustrated, only when required and,for example, according to the weather conditions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A crash helmet for sports, comprising asupporting cap (2), being designed to be worn on the top of the head,and an outer cap (3), designed to fit on top of the supporting cap (2)and be connected to the latter; said supporting cap (2) having aplurality of first through holes (5-9) in a surface substantiallyopposite an inner surface of the outer cap (3), and the outer caphaving, at a zone being at the front when in use, at least one secondhole (18, 19, 20) for entry of air; each of said caps having a rear zoneand the rear zones of the caps defining at least one first passage (28)defining a path for the exiting of air, characterized in that said atleast one first passage (28) has first, second and third successiveportions spaced apart along the path, each portion has a cross-section,the second portion is interposed between the first and third portionsand the cross-section of the second portion is smaller than thecross-sections of the first and third portions of the first passage. 2.The crash helmet according to claim 1, characterized in that the outercap (3) has a plurality of second holes (18, 19, 20); the rear zones ofthe caps (2, 3) together defining a number of said first passages (27,28, 29) for exiting of the air.
 3. The crash helmet according to claim2, characterised in that there are three second holes (18, 19, 20) andfirst passages (27, 28, 29).
 4. The crash helmet according to claim 3,characterised in that a second hole (19) is located at the centre of afront zone of the outer cap (3); there being two more second holes (18,20) on opposite sides of the second hole (19).
 5. The crash helmetaccording to claim 1, characterized in that, where they make contactwith one another at the front of the crash helmet (1), the supportingcap (2) and outer cap (3) define another hole (26) communicating with ahole (9) in the supporting cap through a groove (24) in the outer cap(3).
 6. The crash helmet according to claim 1, characterised in that thesupporting cap (2) has at least one third hole (11), being located in arear zone of the supporting cap below the first passages (27, 28, 29).7. The crash helmet according to claim 6, characterised in that thereare three third holes (11).
 8. The crash helmet according to claim 1,characterised in that, at the surface substantially opposite the innersurface of the outer cap (3), the supporting cap (2) has a plurality ofrecesses (12); said inner surface of the outer cap (3) having aplurality of projections (23) designed to fit into the recesses (12). 9.The crash helmet according to claim 1, characterised in that, ifobserved from the front, the outer cap (3) has a three-lobed shape. 10.The crash helmet according to claim 1, characterised in that when thecrash helmet (1) is assembled, the supporting cap (2) and outer cap (3)are permanently connected to one another.